Trinity City
The Tri-Cities got its start in 1882 with the founding of Hover along the Columbia River in what is now Finley. The crossing of Columbia was well established here and soon a train station was built and track laid. The convergence of the three rivers made the location a prime spot for agriculture and trade for anyone heading West towards the coast. The location remained small in population but swelled with traders and travelers until the establishment of the nuclear facility outside of Richland. With the nuclear facility came a boom to the economy and population that put the Tri-Cities on the map in a significant way. After World War II, two major developments led to the rapid growth of the area. The first was the building of Primarch Industries’ headquarters along the Columbia River where Columbia Park is in the real world. The defense contractor was part and parcel with the nuclear facility and the work that developed America’s nuclear weapons program. Over the decades, Primarch Industrial would branch into telecommunications, energy, and robotics, becoming a world leader in the defense arena. With the companies’ growth, so too did the Tri-Cities expand until in 1979 the three separate cities incorporated into Trinity City. The population at the start of the game will be just over 3.5 million, and the boundaries of the city will stretch far beyond its real-life counterparts. The second event was the US Department of Energy contracting Ardus Enterprises to handle the cleanup and maintenance of the nuclear facility. In 1964, Ardus converted the nuclear facility into a power plant and would end up becoming the US leader in environmentally responsible waste management. Today, Ardus Enterprises focuses not only in waste management, but in energy, ecological R&D, and environmental cleanup efforts. The company now controls the dams along the Columbia River including the Grand Coulee where a vast majority of the West Coasts’ electricity is generated. Yakima The city of Yakima is an industrial powerhouse in the modern day. Benefitting from the logging industry, meat packing, cold storage, and the primary location of Primarch’s industrial complex, Yakima too has an inflated population of around 1.5 million. Walla Walla Walla Walla is the oldest of Southeastern Washington’s cities. It is currently a pretty good reflection of the real world city except that it is increased in size and population. The surrounding area is still a cradle for wheat and onion farming, and the wine industry holds the city in high esteem for its production of famed vintages. The city of 1 million is surrounded by pastoral hills nestled in the lowlands of the Blue Mountain. The state penitentiary in Walla Walla is vastly expanded to handle The World of Darkness’ higher crime rate and prejudice. This inflation of the criminal justice system is part of Walla Walla’s increased population, but also adds to the notoriety of the city. Those who live in and around Walla Walla are well aware of the instances of violence, murder, and even darker things that crop up now and again. Fortunately, the populace can find solace in the large Catholic church presence in and around the Whitman College campus.